Immigration

Arne Carlson, Republican Governor of Minnesota from 1991 to 1999, and Walter Mondale, Democratic Vice President of the United States from 1977 to 1981, recently teamed up to ask us to question why we would cast aside an election system that leads the nation in voter turnout and honesty and institute instead a highly complicated two-ballot system that will cost millions and increase taxes. It will also make voting more difficult so fewer MN Citizens will be able to vote.

They note that the proposed amendment which will greatly alter Minnesota's elections does not have its origins in Minnesota, nor is it based on legislative studies of recent elections. Rather, "it is a product of an organization known as the American Legislative Exchange Council, ALEC, which is the creation of the Koch brothers, who amassed their fortunes in oil and who live in Florida." The goal of the global corporations that belong to ALEC is to influence legislators who introduce legislation across the nation.

The aim of this particular amendment is mainly to end election-day registration, directly affecting more than 500,000 Minnesota voters.

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MN's Leading Election System

With Secretary of State Steve Simon

Listen to Secretary of State Steve Simon's excellent presentation on MN's outstanding election system emulated by many other states at the Think Again Brooklyns forum January 19, 2016. Secretary Simon includes ways in which it can be improved, and he explains why it is important to vote. He concludes with a quote from a tee shirt: "Failure to vote is not an act of rebellion. It is an act of surrender."

In January, Oregon became the first state in the country to begin automatically registering eligible citizens to vote when they obtain or renew their driver's licenses or state IDs, completely shifting the burden of voter registration from the individual to the government.